Giorgia Bronzini (IWiggle High5)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-High5) leads the sprint(Image credit: Sean Robinson/Velofocus)
Rossella Ratto (Cylance) finished third(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Former two-time world champion Giorgia Bronzini will lead the Cylance team at next month's Santos Women's Tour in Australia on her debut with the the American squad.
"It's been two years without coming over in January for the Australian races, and I really look forward to being in the peloton," said Bronzini, who won stage 3 in the 2015 edition. "It will be really hard to repeat the result from 2015, but I hope to be able to perform well for my new team and the fans.
"I really like Adelaide as a city and I enjoyed being there for training and for the race. I'll see how [the new] stages will suit me, but it will be January so I think the Australian roster in the peloton will be super fit and in shape – it will be a hard time beating them."
Compatriots Marta Tagliaferro and Rossella Ratto join Bronzini on the race roster with American duo Lauren Stephens and Holly Breck, and Serbian Jelena Eric rounding out the squad.
Having won stages 2 and 4 in 2017 with Kirsten Wild, team manager Manel Lacambra expects a winning return in 2018 but is also looking forward to starting the season in the Australian summer.
"South Australia is one of the most beautiful places in the world - the beaches, Adelaide Hills, people, weather, food... [they're] all amazing," Lacambra said. "We love to race here and it's a good opportunity for us to get good training and competition to get ready for the European season."
The 2.1 Women's Tour Down Under takes place 11-14 January with race to conclude in the Adelaide Parklands.
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Cylance for the 2018 Santos Women's Tour: Giorgia Bronzini, Marta Tagliaferro, Rossella Ratto, Lauren Stephens, Jelena Eric and Holly Marie Breck.
